


To thee, to the end of times

by Mylesime



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Badass Will, Canon Compliant, Consensual Blood Drinking, Consensual Prey, High School, Human/non human relationship, M/M, Mutant Will, Pining Mike, Post Season 2, Sexuality Crisis, Supernatural Elements, Will has been changed by the Mind Flayer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-04-01 12:12:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13998096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mylesime/pseuds/Mylesime
Summary: The Mind Flayer changed him, opening worlds he never thought possible. And now he had to adapt to this new life, new self with a new, hightened hunger for Mike that the other boy didn't seem to mind.





	1. Prologue

 

Life in Hawkins was back to its normal boring usual small town like life, with people who knew each other from Kindergarten because they had all grown up together and they would always be, living their everyday routine with the same fake enthusiasm, complaining that it was really too quiet in Hawkins anyway and that nothing never happened even though the Sky had split up twice and demons emerged from the ground. A few months had passed since the Mind Flayer incident and Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Max tried to resume a normal teenage life, playing video games and watching Star Wars. Elf was slowly adjusting to her new life as Jane Hopper and Jim had enrolled her to school after Dr Owens declared it safe. She was learning how to live normally, her new dad teaching her all that there was to teach a child matured too soon and loved too little.

The events had taken a toll on all of them but none were as scarred as Will. Hawkins lab might be closed and the gate to the Upside Down sealed but the boy couldn’t return to his former self. It was the nightmares first, so vivid and real they would wake Will in the Middle of the Night and he felt hot although the window was open and it was March. Joyce brought him regularly to Dr Owens for check ups who couldn’t find anything wrong with the boy.

 “It’s PTSD, Mrs Byers. It can only be that…” he said.

 “The last time you pronounced the word PTSD my son got possessed by a giant monster who nearly killed him!”

 “I’m sorry Joyce but the boy looks fine to me. Medically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with Will. I cannot diagnose a disease that isn’t there.”

Although Joyce was convinced there was something wrong with her son she couldn’t prove it and Will returned to live his life as a thirteen year old boy pretending that there wasn’t anything wrong with him either. Sometimes, when he was with his friends and all were playing and laughing and commenting about Star Trek, Will would feel a pull inside him like a nudging feeling that never quite went away. Most of his friends wouldn’t notice but Mike did. Mike always noticed and it made Will feel all fuzzy inside.

 “Will, what’s wrong?” Mike asked, his hand on Will’s shoulder and when Mike put his hand on his shoulder, Will felt like the safer boy in the world even though it was lie, “Is it the Mind Flayer again?”

 “I’m fine Mike.”

 “Have you been there again? To the Upside Down. Your mom told me about the nightmares.”

 Will shrugged, “They’re only nightmares, Mike…” and really, what else could they be?

Mike never pressed the matter but always reminded Will that he was there for him, always and Will smiled with butterflies dancing in his stomach as Mike took his hand to seal his promise. Will wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t a baby anymore. It didn’t take him long to figure out that he felt for Mike whatever it was Mike was feeling for Elf, the only difference being that it was normal for Mike to like Elf this way but it wasn’t normal for Will.

Because boys could only like girls after all.

“You know Will it’s ok to be different,” Jonathan reminded him one day after finding Will crying with one of his numerous sketches of Mike on his pillow. Will sniffled and replied that he was tired of being different and Jonathan kissed his brow because there wasn’t much else he could do really.

And Will let it go. He couldn’t lie to his brother and it hurt too damn much anyway.

Jonathan knowing about his secret didn’t bother him as much though as Troy finding a drawing in Will’s bag and calling him “Mike’s boyfriend” in front of everyone in school. Will really wished he had died that day but his friends shoved Troy off and didn’t comment. Luckily for Will, there were only Lucas, Max and Elf with him and if Mike heard something, he was too oblivious to understand what Troy really meant. Mike was like that. He noticed the smallest of things but remained unaware of the bigger ones.

“Troy shouldn’t tell on you for liking Mike,” Elf said to him that day, joining him in an empty classroom while Will tried to dry his tears. She always came to Will, responding to this strange, inner connection they had and that no one but them could share. She was a part of the nightmares too but she belonged to the softer parts.

“I don’t,” Will croaked but his lie sounded weak even to his ears.

“I don’t understand why you can’t like Mike. I do.”

Will rolled his eyes, “You’re a girl, Elf.”

“Why does it make a difference that you’re not?”

Will couldn’t find any reply as he stared at her smiling warmly at him and his heart clenched painfully in his chest when he remembered that it was she that Mike held and kissed but Elf didn’t know, couldn’t know how miserable that made him feel. She put her hand to his hair and hummed as he wept, the nudging feeling inside spreading, like roots inside his very heart and soul.

 

The changes in Will were subtle at first and it took friends and family months to realize there was something inherently off with him.

It was Will refusing to eat his steak because it was too cooked or avoiding sunny days because it made his skin pickle. It was feeling a sudden rush of lethal aggressivity when being called a pussy one too much time and shoving Troy violently into the lockers, breaking his collarbone in the process and feeling content about it. It was being summoned to the Principal’s office and argue with Troy’s parents that Will hadn’t attacked their son and that no, he couldn’t possibly have growled doing so. It was pretending that none of this mattered because Will had gone through so much already and Dr Owens said he suffered from PTSD so they should just really give him a break and adapt to his new behavior instead, hoping the crisis would recede and Will return to his more usual quiet demeanour.

And that’s what they all did. They adapted.

Joyce stopped cooking Will’s steak and watched her precious boy swallow mouthfuls of bloody meat as if it were the most normal diet in the world even though Will had always liked chocolate and hated steak and that he _did_ growl when he was angry which he tended to be quite often now. Will didn’t understand what was happening to him either. He was hungry all the time and there was this constant anger that accompanied his every thoughts. He needed _something_ but had no idea what that something could be. At first, it was rather amusing to see Troy so scared of him he darted away as soon as he caught a glimpse of Will’s pullover in the hall. And he wasn’t going to complain about his newly gained agility in gym class either.

Lunch time however was more of an ordeal and Will had to make due with a dozen pairs of eyes scrutinizing his strange eating habits. His friends exchanged worried looks as they watched him remove the bread, pickles, cheese and tomatoes from his hamburgers only to keep the meat that he pressed with his fork to extract the blood. It made them sick but none commented about it. Lucas said once that it was disgusting and Will was so upset he broke his fork in two.

“I don’t find that disgusting,” Elf said, trying to support Will and Will smiled at her shyly as she smiled back.

But when Will stopped eating the meat altogether only to drink the blood, Joyce grew alarmed and informed Dr Owens who performed a series of tests on him again.

“For how long has he been like this?” he asked Joyce who paced worriedly in the office.

“About 3 months.”

“He has grown in muscle since I last saw him. You say he attacked one of the boys of his school?”

“He broke his collarbone.”

“He was bullying me!” Will tried to defend himself as Dr Owens inspected his teeth like he was some kind of dog.

“I see…” he ran his hand on Will’s forehead. “How are you feeling Will?”

“I’m fine,” Will snapped angrily and his mother flinched.

"And he’s so aggressive all the time.”

“I’m not aggressive!”

“What is wrong with him Dr?”

Dr Owens frowned and remained silent as he searched for answers. Eventually, he turned to Joyce, “May I have a word with you?” She followed him and they left Will who looked positively fuming on the examination table.

“What is happening to my boy again?” Joyce pressed as they reached Dr Owens’ office.

He closed the door behind them, “How old is Will, Joyce?”

“He’ll turn fourteen in a few months. Why?”

“You know Joyce, testosterone is a nasty little bitch. It forces aggressivity and muscle development. It’s a phase all boys must go through, no matter how unpleasant this is.”

“Are you implying that my boy is drinking blood because he’s _growing up_?” she was livid.

Dr Owens sighed, “Will has been through horrible events. You’d be surprised to see what traumatized people can do to cope with their trauma.”

“Will feeds on blood and raw meat. He takes the meat out of the pack, gathers the blood in a side bowl, eats the meat directly from the pack and drinks the blood.”

“Some African populations live off raw meat and milk just fine,” he tried to lighten the mood before biting his lip, “I understand this must seem awfully disturbing to you Joyce, but again, on a pure medical level Will is fine. There’s nothing wrong with his blood test and nothing wrong with the results of his MRI. The only additional test we could perform on Will at this moment is an autopsy and I don’t think you’d like that very much.” She gritted her teeth, “I’m sorry Joyce but we cannot explain all disturbing things with magic. Ted Bundy committed horrible crimes but he was still fully human.”

“Are you comparing my boy to Ted Bundy?”

“No, I’m merely implying that the human brain is capable of the best and the worst without necessarily relying on the Supernatural.”

She brought Will home without a word and observed her son look at a bird with the expression of a cat.

 

The whole world seemed different to Will.

The colors were darker but the details neater. He could hear things that no one else could, like this soft humming sound that rang in his mind all the time and made his head twitch. And there was the smell, a bit like the smell that came from his steaks, only stronger and richer and absolutely _delicious._ Sometimes, he even felt followed as if someone was watching him, observing him, studying him from afar but he could never see anyone. He was becoming paranoid. One day however, as he was dozzing in math class, bored beyond measure, he distractedly looked at the window and saw a girl there, looking right at him. She was dressed like a gothic version of Harley Quinn, blond hair pulled into bunches with red ribbons and wearing tight black shorts and huge boots with heels heavy enough to break holes into the ground. He blinked. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

He saw the girl a few times again. She was always staring right at him as if she knew him, knew something he didn't. But whenever he tried to approach her, she disappeared as fast as she came. His friends tried to be supportive and patient with his temper but Will wasn’t making it particularly easy for them.

“It’s becoming impossible Mike,” Lucas complained after Will had overthrown the campaign table because he didn’t agree with Dustin’s decision to burn the Troll cave, “Seriously what is happening to him?”

“I’ll try to talk to him,” Mike said.

“Be careful,” Dustin said half-serious, “He might try to chomp your head off.”

“Haha, very funny Dustin…” Mike rolled his eyes as he made his way upstairs to join Will in his room.

“He wouldn’t,” Elf suddenly spoke from her corner after Mike had left, “Not to Mike anyway…”

The others stared at her, muet, blinking and a bit scared.

“Why does she always have to say stuff like that…” Lucas whispered.

The boy was on his bed, head low, hands clutching at the sheets, ”I’m sorry,” he said and Mike could hear the tears in his voice.

“It’s ok, Man,” he answered, sitting beside him, his hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t understand what is happening to me…” Will cried and he looked so vulnerable and sweet Mike wanted to hold him close and never let him go.

“Is it the Mind Flayer?” he inquired softly, brushing his hand against Will’s.

Will shook his head; his heart speeding up at the contact of Mike’s damp palm on his skin, “No, it’s something else.”

“Does it come from the Upside Down?”

“It comes from me.”

They were silent for a while, Mike’s hand on Will’s and Will began to move his head with a grimace, as if to remove water from his ear and the water wouldn’t go away. And there was this smell. It was so strong, it made his head spin uncomfortably.

“Are you ok Will?” Mike asked with a frown.

“Can’t you hear it?” Will replied, scrunching his nose;

Mike shook his head, ”Sorry man, I can’t hear anything…”

“Never mind… It’s probably me finally going crazy…”

Mike tightened his grip on Will’s hand, “If you go crazy, we’ll go crazy together,” he reminded him with a soft smile.

Will swallowed and tried to smile at Mike but his eyes fell on his jugular and there seemed to be a soft hum coming from it and then Will realized that it was Mike’s blood rushing through his veins and he heard his heart pumping the blood and his mouth watered and there was a sudden ache in his jaw as he saw himself tearing Mike’s soft flesh apart.

He tore himself away from Mike abruptly, as if struck by lightning, sick to his stomach. The smell of the boy’s blood was so strong, so tantalizing, it made him want to vomit.

Mike frowned, “What’s wrong?” but then he saw them, dark swollen veins right under Will’s eyes which had turned entirely black. His heart raced in his ribcage and it sounded like an avalanche to Will’s ears.

“Will? Are you OK man?”

Will was shaking violently. All in him was calling to Mike and the tune was impossible to resist. His eyes were glued on his friend and he had to remind himself over and over again that this was Mike and that he couldn’t possibly want to _eat_ him. Mike rose up tentatively but Will _growled_ at him and Mike’s soul split up. He was afraid and Will could feel it and he was sufficiently conscious to want to cry because he was scaring Mike and he hated it. Hell, he was scaring himself.

Mike took a slow step, tears in his eyes, “Will? Can you hear me? It’s me, Mike? Do you recognize me?” his voice broke.

Will felt like dying because yes, he knew this was Mike and he knew who Mike was but at this very moment he was fighting with all his strength not to lunge forward and attack because _God dammit_ he wanted his blood so much. He had never wanted anything so strongly in his entire life and this was so absolutely wrong on so many levels. He could _not_ want to eat _Mike_.

Mike swallowed and took another step and Will snarled angrily as he felt his control slip. He was going to attack. He was so hungry and Mike smelt so good. Mike recoiled, short of breath, sweat dripping on his temples.

“Will…”

Will’s entire body shook. Something built up within him and the window exploded. Only it wasn’t the window, it was Will breaking through the window. And it wasn’t Will either. It was a Demodog.

Because that’s what Will had turned into.

His best friend was a Demodog.


	2. Animal I have become

 

Mike remained frozen on his spot for what seemed an eternity. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. His mind replayed over and over the scene of his best friend growling and turning into that monstrous thing. This couldn’t have happened. Will couldn’t be one of them. Will was sweet and gentle. He wasn’t a Demogorgon. He couldn’t be. They had won. El had sealed the gate. It was over.

He didn’t notice steps hurrying in the room and Joyce calling after him frantically. It was only after being shaken violently that he snapped back into himself.

“What happened Mike? Where is Will?” she was screaming, her features deformed by worry.

The others had joined them and all were checking the room with a confused expression. But Mike couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

“He came out,” El eventually spoke and all turned to her, “The Demogorgon inside Will. He fled through the window. I saw him.”

Joyce frowned and the three kids mimicked her, “What are you talking about? What Demogorgon?”

“Will is one of them,” Mike spoke and he didn’t remember he had, “He was frantic and then I saw his face, it changed and then his whole body began to shake and he growled and he… turned into one of them,” he suppressed a sob and locked eyes with all the people in the room, “Will is a Demodog.”

“That’s impossible…” Dustin whispered.

“We saw him change,” Mike noted remembering as he spoke, “His temper. His new taste for blood… Will was turning into one of them… We should have known… The Mind Flayer... We didn’t… And it was right before us during all this time...”

“So does that mean that Will is… gone?” Lucas croaked and Mike’s heart broke.

“No,” El said, “It’s still Will. Only a different Will.”

“We must find him,” Mike eventually said after swallowing and blinking so many times his face hurt. He turned to El, “Do you know where he is?”

She nodded.

 

Will ran, his powerful monster legs carrying him so fast the trees around him mingled into one big blurry vision. He could feel the world entirely differently as if he were connected to its very roots, tothe Universe even, sounds and smells reaching him from everywhere. The Shadow Monster pulled at him, gave him strength to keep racing through the woods as he remembered over and over. _Mike._ It had been Mike all along. That strange inviting tune inside his head. He snarled and pushed harder on the ground. And the smell that followed him everywhere. Human blood. His friend’s blood. _Mike’s blood_. He jumped in the air above a fallen trunk, his senses catching a nearby prey.

 _He had wanted to kill Mike_.

It had taken all his control to leave through the window instead of ripping Mike apart and that made him want to die. He sobbed and raced forward, desperate to go as far away as possible. He couldn’t return. Mike knew what he was. How would he face him again? How could he face them all again?

He latched on a deer and planted his hundreds of teeth deep into the animal flesh, tearing it apart with his huge carnivorous mouth. The creature didn’t last long and died as Will fed more viciously than he ever had, remembering over and over that this could have been Mike or his mom or Jonathan.

He let go of the deer and hauled into the night.

The Shadow Monster had gotten him again.

 

They followed El into the woods. She walked with a steady gait straight in front of her, her expression grave and determined. Joyce had tried to reach Hopper to no avail so they went alone, just the five of them with lamps and weapons in case they needed to defend themselves against Will. Mike had tried to tell them it was useless because Will was sweet and wouldn’t hurt a fly but even he wasn’t so sure anymore. Will had provoked the death of soldiers when possessed by the Mind Flayer and he almost attacked him, Mike knew that much. He had felt it, Will’s rage and hunger.

A haul broke through the silent woods and resonated among the trees.

“It’s Will,” Dustin whispered, his voice shaking with fear.

“He’s close,” El stated without emotion.

Mike suddenly turned to her, “Please El, don’t hurt him. It’s still Will.”

She smiled at him, “I know.”

They walked deeper into the woods, their hearts drumming in their chests, weapons ready to strike. They found him among the leaves. He had transformed back into himself and laid sobbing and covered in blood, the corpse of what used to be a deer beside him. They brought hands and clothes to their noses to mask the acrid smell and Mike rushed to Will’s side.

“Will…” he whispered, his heart at the back of his throat as he removed his jacket to cover the frail trembling body, “We’re here. You’re ok now,” he swallowed and his mouth was dry as the boy soaked his hands with his tears.

Will listened blankly to his mother and Chief Hopper argue in the living room. Hopper wanted to take him to Dr Owens but Joyce refused, arguing they would lock Will away or worse euthanize him and Will blinked because he thought this wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

The contact of a wet towel on his bare arm brought him back to reality. Mike was cleaning the blood off him in silence and Will stared in the distance with glassy eyes, unwilling to acknowledge Mike’s presence at all. They hadn't talked about it. Will didn’t really know what to say to him. There wasn’t anything to say really. He had turned into a giant lizard killer from Hell and ate a living animal in the woods instead of eating Mike. What could he say about that? He blinked and waggled on his stool like a ragdoll as Mike removed the blood from his skin with a gentle touch and a tense expression.

“Speak to me Will,” Mike pressed softly.

Will didn’t budge as the cold water trailed on his skin. It was soothing.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You know what happened?”

Will shrugged, “I became this thing…” Mike swallowed, the water from the towel dripping red on the floor, “I felt this surge within me. It was like a… a feeling. And I felt that I was… exploding.”

“You… transformed…” Mike remembered, shuddering, his face flushed with disgust and Will saw it and it made him want to cry.

“It was growing in me. I could feel it.”

Mike swallowed, “How did you transform back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think you can control it?”

 “I don’t know.”

Mike pressed his lips together but said no more. He plunged the towel into the basin to rinse it and applied it to Will’s skin in silence. There wasn’t anything to say really.

 

Eventually, they had no other choice than to get Dr Owens involved. Hopper had faith in Owens, stating that the man saved Jane’s life after all and made it so that she could have a normal life with him and there was little thing Hopper loved more than his foster kid. They took him to the Bunker Owens had had built to further his research on aliens and non human creatures. It was deep into the woods and a dozen scientists assisted him, all hurrying in that strange big square made of concrete. He swore that it was nothing like Brenner’s research and barbary. Brenner wanted to destroy and conquer. Owens only wanted to understand.

“Is he possessed again?” Joyce asked as Owens examined the reaction of Will’s pupils and Will kept his eyes on Mike to gain strength, ignoring as best the fact that he and Elf were holding hands.

“I don’t think so. Last time his body hadn’t changed. The connection was on a different level. It was invisible. Here, his cells have evolved. They have mutated.”

“You mean he’s different,” she stated and it wasn’t a question.

“I mean his body reacts as if it were… contaminated by something.”

“The Demogorgon,” Mike spoke looking at Will, “It turned you into one of its own.”

Dr Owens raised his eyebrow and nodded slightly, “In literature, we call that the myth of the vampyr or werewolf or however you wish to call it. There are hundreds of stories about this phenomenon.”

“In _literature_ ,” Hopper highlighted, “Fiction.”

“For the moment, fiction is all we have, Chief.”

Will swallowed a sob but didn’t say anything. He didn’t find the idea of being turned into some fairytale monster comforting in the least. He blinked, the persistent buzzing sound making his head jerk again.

His mother frowned and ran a hand on his forehead, “Are you ok, Will?”

He glanced at Mike and El. He could smell her blood too but it was a lot fainter and there was no hum coming from her or from any other person in the room for that matter. It only came from Mike.

“It’s nothing,” he said carelessly but El stared at him hard and he knew that she knew.

Dr Owens frowned, “He likes blood you say…”

Joyce swallowed and nodded, “Yes, it’s basically the one thing he feeds on now.”

The man remained silent for a moment, observing Will and the way his nostrils twitched every now and then, the frown on his brow and his ragged breath, “Can you smell us Will?” he asked suddenly, “Can you smell blood?”

Will nodded slowly, “Yes…”

“Does it smell the same or can you differentiate us?”

Will locked eyes with Mike who swallowed nervously, “I can differentiate.”

“Does it appeal to you?”

The hum called to him again and his mouth watered, “Yes…” Mike tightened his grip on El’s hand. It made Will want to vomit.

“Was this question really necessary?” Hopper asked.

Owens locked eyes with Joyce and Hopper, “May I have word?” he said and Will knew he was going to tell them he was a danger to his friends and that they’d better lock him up or as his mother suggested it, euthanize him.

“What are we going to do?” Joyce asked.

“Right now, our best concern is to understand why it happened and how to contain it.”

She stopped mid-way, “Contain? Aren’t you going to… reverse it?”

“As long as we don’t know what’s going on for sure, there’s nothing we can do I’m afraid. The only thing I know is that Will seems to have developed the same attributes as a predator. He has grown in speed, strength, agility and he’s carnivorous. He has turned into one of those things.”

“But you can cure it, right? You will help him, right?”

“We will do the best we can but you must understand that he cannot be let out for the moment. He could turn into that thing again and then, there would be a carnage. I would be lying to you Joyce if I didn’t say that Will _is_ dangerous in his current state. He’s lethal.”

“So what do you suggest? That he remains here, locked up like a beast?”

“No, I didn’t say that. We won’t lock him up but we can’t let him go either.”

Will could hear them talk through the wall and he stared at his hands. Dr Owen’s decision didn’t surprise him. He felt very tired as if he hadn’t slept in a very long time which he hadn’t really. His eyes grew heavy and he closed them for a minute, enjoying the darkness and the quiet. The smell of Mike’s blood reached him, stronger than ever. The boy was approaching. He felt him sat on the bed and Mike frowned when he noticed the black veins under Will’s eyes as he bent toward him.

“Will?”

Will inhaled deeply. There was nothing more wonderful than this smell. It was intoxicating and soothing at the same time and the beating of Mike’s heart rocked him like a lullaby. He purred unconsciously and Mike’s frown deepened.

“Are you going to transform again?”

The reverie ended brutally and Will’s eyes snapped open on Mike, his worried face only a few inches away and the scent of his blood hit him so hard he had to pull back a little.

“I’m alright. Sorry. I’m just very tired.”

Mike bit his lip, “We won’t let the Mind Flayer get you again, I promise,” and Will forced a smile on his lips to help Mike believe everything was going to be ok although it was a lie.

 

The hunger was driving Will insane. It burned him all over, putting his insides on fire and he felt weak and nauseous. They tried to feed him different types of food but Will couldn’t remember. He was so hungry and the smell of Mike’s blood so enticing, it made him want to cry or worse, _attack_. When all food options revealed themselves inconclusive, Dr Owens tried something else. He took a bloodbag he had brought and opened it. They were all in the room, Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, Nancy, El and Mike, watching anxiously Will’s reaction, El ready to put him down if need be. The smell of the blood hit him immediately, almost covering Mike’s and Mike’s was so potent Will could smell it hours after he had left. The feeling he had felt earlier came rushing back and his face ached all over as bloodlust washed over him painfully.

They all gasped, eyes widening in fear, watching the dark veins gather under Will’s face, his eyes turning black. The boy opened his mouth and they saw them, the two snake fangs that had protruded from his gum, sharp and deadly.

El decided that it was time to intervene. She focused on Will and on Will’s hunger, feeling it as if it were her own. The veins receded, Will’s breathing slowed and he closed his mouth, calm again.

Will felt hot tears gather in his eyes as he bore into the terrified looks of the people he loved most. He was a monster.

He remained in the bunker for so many days he lost track of time. Mike enthusiastically offered to stay with El and Will could only give a half-hearted smile because he wished Mike had stayed alone. However, El proved to be a solid ally when it came to control Will’s growing bloodlust as they tested his reaction to several different diets and environmental effects. Will hated the sun and everything that was hot. He could no longer digest vegetables, fruits or cereals and the only thing that truly quenched his thirst and aggressivity were blood and raw meat. It could be any blood but human blood had a stronger effect .

His reflexes and senses also developed considerably and he could run and jump at abnormal speed and height, see tiny details from corridor opposites and hear people talk through walls. Mike tried to cheer him up, telling him that it was awesome because he was one of the Superheroes too now and Will was almost tempted to tell him that he wanted to eat him more than anything and that the smell of his blood was driving him mad just so that Mike could understand how awesome it _wasn't_ but Mike looked so beautiful when he smiled that Will didn't say anything. He smiled back, a small weak smile and this seemed to make Mike even happier.

"So you’re like a mix of a vampire and a werewolf now?” Lucas tried to understand when his friends visited him.

“I don’t know what I am…” Will whispered and he felt Mike’s hand on his shoulder. The heat from his palm burned him but it was Mike and that made it tolerable.

“You’re our friend,” Mike asserted and El nodded, brushing his other hand gently with hers.

“The Demogorgon got me again. He got me good this time.”

“We’ll find a way to fix this, I promise,” and there was so much determination in Mike’s words that it made Will smile.

Mike and El couldn’t be with him all the time. They had to go to school and his mother and Hopper had to go to work. So Will remained alone during most of the week, spending his time drawing and waiting, the horrible hunger making him weep. He was fed blood bags and it helped a lot although it was cold and tasted of plastic.

He stared at himself in the mirror. He looked different. He was still small but he wasn’t so skinny anymore and his eyes were darker with shades of grey and yellow. The smell from the empty blood bag back on the table by his bed reached him and he focused on it, watching with a morbid fascination the dark veins gathering on his face, right under his eyes who turned black and the pain in his gums grow. He opened his mouth and his heart missed a beat. Two long sharp snake fangs had replaced his human canines and his front teeth looked as sharp as razor blades. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the veins receded, the fangs retreated and he curled on the floor to weep.

The Mind Flayer had made him a monster.

He barely talked to the scientists or to anyone for that matter and when they saw the fangs protrude from his mouth, they gasped and called him a vampire but Will knew that he wasn’t, not really.

There wasn’t anything like him.

His only contact with the outside world was the window and he spent hours in front of it, watching the silent forest above, ignoring his reflexion that he had come to abhor.

It was raining the day he saw the girl again. She was down there, at the bottom of the building, her big green eyes staring right into him through the glass with an intensity that made him shiver and step back. He blinked. When he looked again she was gone. He swallowed but didn’t tell anyone. He was already a freak, no need to let them think he was crazy too.

His friends tried their best to cheer him up. They brought games and comic books and shared with him anecdotes from school and it made Will a bit happy and a bit sad, his eyes falling on Mike and El’s intertwined hands and heart heavy as he saw the way they smiled at each other. He was slowly getting accustomed to being near people and although Mike’s blood appealed to him more than the others, he could resist it better.

“What does it feel like?” El asked once after Mike had left with his mother to go to school, leaving them alone.

“I can’t really explain it. I’m still me. I know I am. It’s just difficult. And the hunger… Sometimes it’s almost impossible to control.”

“It’s because of Mike,” she said and it wasn’t a question and Will felt suddenly ill,” You look at him and you’re in pain.”

“It scares me,” Will confessed, head low, tears pooling in his eyes.

Her small hand came to take his, “It’s ok Will. You won’t hurt him.”

“Promise me you’ll protect him from me?” he cried and she nodded stiffly, “I don’t understand why he makes me feel this way,” and he meant everything by saying only half. “I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a bad monster,” she said with a smile and a small pressure on Will’s hand and Will felt a bit sad and a bit less alone.


	3. The only one

 

_**3 years later** _

 

“Will, Jane, you’re going to be late for school!” Joyce yelled, knowing the two teenagers could hear her, especially Will whose supernatural hearing had caused quite a few awkward situations in the past.

A tornado swept through the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Will!” she chastised, “No super speed inside the house!”

The blur stilled to reveal a sixteen year-old boy smiling widely at his exasperated mother.

“You’re the one who said I was gonna be late!”

She rolled her eyes. A girl stepped into the kitchen more calmly, smiling a little, taking a seat at the table in front of her cereals. Will grinned, grabbing a bottle from the fridge that he opened and immediately brought to his mouth to drink.

A man entered the now crowded kitchen and ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately.

“In a mug, Will!” he said in a gentle yet firm voice.

The boy pouted but obeyed and poured the content of the bottle into the Star Wars mug he picked from the cupboard. He didn't bother sitting and gulped his mug in one go, letting the copper liquid nourish him and quench the familiar burning in his throat.

“Slow down Will!” his mother said, smearing butter on a toast.

He shrugged, too hungry to care, feeling the liquid soothe him gradually, his brain turning to mush.

Three years had passed since Will’s transformation and if it demanded at first a lot of adjustments, no one was truly surprised anymore to see him zoom across rooms or drink a mixture whose main ingredient was blood. Sure, they all tried their best to keep Will on firm ground and he visited Dr Owens every week for a series of tests that made sure his particularities never grew out of control.

They all had their theories regarding what Will had become. For Dustin, Will was a mutant, half human, half demodog. Lucas and Mike defended the vampire and werewolf theory, arguing Will was a mix of both. Max liked the hybrid as well. Jane was the only one who didn't care about the fact that Will fed on blood and could turn into a faceless beast. He was her brother and this was all that mattered.

Jim and Joyce had finally eloped after four years of painful flirting, joining their households and it was for the best. El and Will got along perfectly and she could keep him in check with her power. Will was glad he had El around. He felt less alone, less monstrous although he knew he was the kind of things that haunted children's books.

He had stayed at the Bunker for months at first, undergoing test after test and all sorts of treatments to keep his aggressivity and hunger at bay. It was only after it was decided that he no longer posed a threat to the people around him that he was allowed to go home. They were lonely, degrading days and Will felt like a rat in a pharmaceutical lab. He hated it there. His friends visited as often as they could, keeping him updated to what happened outside this stone prison.

Mike came too and this always made Will the happiest. Being near Mike was difficult but he tried his best to never let it show. He didn't want Mike to be afraid of him and risk not seeing him again. He cherished those moments they had just the two of them back then. It was like during the Mind Flayer incident, when all this madness started. Mike came almost everyday after school, bringing Will homework and campaign ideas. Will tried not to look at him too much and always made sure to drink the disgusting mixture they made him drink to keep his hunger satiated a maximum. It wasn't much but it helped being close to Mike without the impending urge to attack.

Three years later, if Will could still not say that he was immune to the smell of Mike’s blood, it was a lot better than it used to be. He tolerated it, like someone on a diet enjoying the smell of a chocolate cake, knowing full well they couldn’t have it. Frustrating but tolerable. He didn't know why Mike had that effect on him. A part of him was almost sure this was linked to his feelings for Mike but he had no certainty. El couldn't be fooled however and knew how hard it was for Will to be near Mike too long. Being what he was wasn't all bad though. He was fast, strong and rid of bullies for good which was the best thing that could have happened.

Dr Owens had suggested very early to Joyce that he focused his overflowing energy into physical activities such as Martial Arts and music. Will whined a lot at first, hating this idea, hating sports. However, he had to admit that the beast inside him was quite happy to run and kick bags and the piano soothed him, letting him pour his heightened emotions.

“That’s enough Will,” Joyce said again, “You’ve had enough. You know what Dr Owens said, no more than half a cup each meal.”

Will grumbled in his empty cup. He was still hungry and wanted more.

“Will!”

He sighed and put the cup down, defeated.

“You’ll have the rest for lunch.”

He rolled his eyes,”Great, it’s in five hours!”

“Show some restraint, boy!” Jim stepped in, taking the cup from Will’s hand who pouted but didn't say anything.

Joyce smiled and came to pet her son’s hair and forehead, flinching a little at the contact of his cold skin that was slowly warming up with the blood he had drunk. The warmth never lasted long though and he knew that in an hour, he’ll be cold as death again.

“It’s ok Will. It’s doesn't do you good when you have too much.”

She didn't say the word. They never did. Not even his friends. The B word was never pronounced out loud.

“Are you two ready to go?” she continued in her soft, gentle voice.

They nodded and Will followed Jane out of the kitchen. As per everyday, he heard his mother make Jane promise to keep an eye on him and he rolled his eyes. Jane always was the one driving. He wasn’t allowed to touch the wheel, his mother and Dr Owens not trusting his strength in a motorized vehicle and it was Jane’s role to chaperon him, ensuring he didn’t slip and keep his behavior as human as possible. Had they been able to tie him to her with a leash, they would have done it long ago.

 

They parked on their usual spot on the High School parklot, slamming the car door shut loudly, making their morning entrance. The other kids turned to face them, suddenly afraid and weary. Nobody knew what the twins were, as they were called, but all could feel something was off with them. Jane didn’t mind. She loved intimidating others and pushed her sunglasses back on her nose disdainfully, swinging her hips toward the stairs that led to the school doors, Will following her suit. The other kids moved away, watching them approach with wide eyes, not uttering a word and the predator in Will purred, feeding on their fear. It made their blood smell all the sweeter.

Suddenly, the strongest, sweetest scent reached his nostrils and he stopped on the second stair, closing his eyes, inhaling deeply, making sure to keep a human face all the way. Mike was here. He took one last deep breath of his delicious, mouth-watering scent before turning half-way and see his car park up next to theirs. The door opened and Mike hopped out, tall and lanky with black unruly curls and a tight leather jacket. Will swallowed. He looked so edible and Will meant it in every possible way. His sister nudged him in the arm, her brow frowning as a reminder that Mike wasn’t food and Will smirked at her in response.

Mike waved at them and trotted up the stairs, followed by Dustin who had just arrived a bit further behind.

“Hey guys!” Mike greeted them before diving to kiss Jane on the lips and Will ignored the pang in his chest as he always did.

He swallowed and grimaced a bit, the smell of Mike’s blood hitting him harder, getting accustomed to it for the day.

The worst of his new life wasn’t the hunger or the aggressivity or even the fact that he turned into a faceless beast when angered. It wasn’t even his hopeless infatuation for his straight best friend and his appetite for his blood. The worst was the loneliness, the complete isolation. Sure he had El and Dr Owens to whom he could talk and his friends but they couldn’t understand, not really. El was special but she wasn’t as much of a freak as he was. She didn’t have ice cold skin and the appetite of a ogre. She could stand in the sun without burning and eat proper food. She wasn’t like Will. After three years living with his new self, Will had come to accept that there wasn’t anyone like him. He was alone.

Sometimes, he still had nightmares and visions. Black fog whispering in the dark, calling to him. Faces in the shadows that he couldn’t recognize and yet felt familiar, as if they belonged to people once seen in distant dreams.

He never said anything about those for fear of being questioned endlessly. They were already supervising his every move, if he told them he regularly saw an invisible girl stalking him, they would have locked him up for good.

First period was a bore and he blinked, dozing off, crunching his nose at the smell of so many people around him, their heartbeats driving him mad, Mike’s driving him mad. It wasn’t possible to smell that good. It was criminal at that point.

Lost in his thoughts, he took a few deep breaths, barely listening to his math teacher. He closed his eyes a brief second, opened them back again and his lips parted, startled. The girl was there. Staring right at him with her deep blue eyes and pale cheeks. He swallowed, ready to speak. He blinked once and she was gone. Again. His lungs expelled the air he had been holding up. He was going crazy.

“Are you all guys coming tonight?” Mike asked during lunch, the worst moment of the day, “I have this new campaign that I’d love us to try!”

They shrugged and confirmed their presence and so did Will although he was dreading inside. A whole evening in a closeted room with Mike and his intoxicating blood. If Hell had to be defined, it’d be it.

He swung his bag over his shoulder.. The class was already empty. He cleared his throat, enjoying the sudden silence and distancing scents. He casually glanced at the window and froze. The girl was there, behind the school gates, beckoning him, looking at him like she really knew him. He quickly looking around. He was alone. He glanced back at the window, the girl was walking away, inviting him to follow.

He frowned and decided to join her.

He opened the window and slid out. No one stopped him. He looked up and down the tall gates, hugging his bag tight on his back before jumping effortlessly over the gates, undisturbed by their height.

 

He caught her scent easily enough. It wasn’t human. It smelled foreign and familiar at the same time. He tracked it down to the old Hawkins lab that had closed years ago, weeds and nettle scratching his knees and ankles. The doors had been sealed with a heavy locker only a very specific human tool could have opened. He grabbed it in one hand, looked around him again for good measure, and snatched it away, pulling on the metal ropes that kept it together as if it weighted nothing.

The heavy doors creaked open in a horribly strident screeching after years being locked. A huge cloud of dust flew from the hinges and Will walked into the dark and deserted room that looked like a post-apocalyptic building. He inhaled, dark veins forming under his eyes. She was still here. He walked further into the halls. They were clean, all corpses gone. He frowned. The floor should have been scattered with the dead bodies of the humans and monsters who died there years ago. He didn’t reckon the humans cleaning it before closing the facility.

He stopped, sniffing the air thick with that familiar scent. Something was behind him.

He turned on his heels, his monsters senses on full alert. A demodog was facing him, circling him, snarling, revealing its carnivorous tentacled-mouth. He didn’t move. He knew the creature wouldn’t attack him. They were staring at each other, calm and curious and Will blinked slowly. Its skin was the same dark grey as he remembered it, slick and bold as a lizard with a single yellow stripe on its head. He frowned. He had already seen that mark before. His frown deepened.

“I know you,” he said more to himself than the beast, “You’re Dart, Dustin’s demodog pet.”

The creature took a small step backwards at those words and rose on its feet, towering over Will who flinched without fear. Slowly, the beast began to change, its skin turning pinker, its shape curving up, hair growing on its head, features forming on its face and soon he was facing a naked blond girl who blinked her deep blue eyes open on him, pouting.

“Name’s Gianna,” she said in a voice that sounded like candy.

Will blinked, shocked by what he had just seen. This creature was Dart. Dart was still alive. Dart was more than just Dart. Dart was a girl! He chuckled in spite of himself.

“You… you can change form?” he asked, dumbfounded.

She frowned, passing a blue blouse over her head, “Can’t you?”

“I thought I was the only one!”

She gave him a strange look, putting on black jeans and huge spiked boots. He studied her and something in her appearance stroke him.

“Wait, I know you”, he said again, “You’re the girl who’s been following me everywhere for ages!”

She shrugged, fixing her blond hair into two big bunches that made her look like a doll.

“I had to make sure you wouldn’t screw up again somehow!”

He frowned, “Screw up?! Screw up what?”

She gave him a long look, “Did you forget about the time you almost wiped us all out?”

“Oh… You mean with the Mind Flayer?”

She squinted her eyes, as if trying to make sense of his words, “The Mind Flayer?!”

“The Shadow Monster! The big black creature in the sky who tried to kill me!”

She blinked, “Oh you mean the All Mother! And she wasn’t trying to kill you dumbass! She was trying to call you home and guide you to us before those stupid humans hurt you! Who would have thought you’d be dummy enough to side with them against us!”

“The humans are my friends! You are the monsters!”

She stared at him without blinking, “Have you looked at yourself lately?”

He swallowed, “What happened to me? What am I? What are you? What’s going on?!”

She shrugged and walked on in the dark corridors, “What do you want to know?!”

He followed her, trotting beside her, “Everything!”

“I just know you were called. Most humans die after being bitten. You didn’t. You lived and turned. It took you long enough to turn but you eventually did. And you stayed with your humans. I thought you were gonna eat them all but you didn’t! You survived! I must say, I’m impressed!”

He grabbed her, “Bitten? Turned? What those even mean? What am I?!”

“What do you want to be?” she smirked, seeming to find the situation highly amusing. He glared at her, hateful and she sighed, “Look, I don’t have miracle answers or magical words that will make the situation suddenly clearer. We are what we are, that’s it.”

“Aliens? Mutants? Hybrids?” he pressed on.

“Anything you want that helps you sleep at night! Or should I say at day?!” she began to laugh at her own joke, “Look William, you shouldn’t even be here. You should be with your little friends playing human in your little house with your mommy and crazy sister.”

“So I’m not human.”

“Did you guess that on your own after taking a walk into the woods looking like a giant lizard from hell?!”

“Dustin calls us demodogs.”

“Good choice of words! You’ll give him my thanks by the way. That boy saved my life after all.”

“So it was you?”

She looked annoyed, “Go home kiddo. Don’t come back here.”

“Why not?”

She took a step closer, closing the distance between them and he gulped down nervously.

“You don’t belong here. You made that very clear when you decided to kill us with fire!”

“I didn’t decide anything. They trapped me.”

“And you still sided with them! You don’t deserve the gift! I don’t understand why the Mother chose you!”

“They’re my friends!”

“They’re humans! We eat them. We don’t befriend them!”

“How have you even survived? I thought the gate was closed!”

“You don’t know anything.”

“Then tell me!”

She gave him a long, pointed look, “Don’t come back,” before turning into smoke and disappearing in this air.

“Dart!” he called to the void around him, ”Gianna!”

No one answered. He was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware this story is a little confusing. This is just the beginning so bear with me. All will unfold in due time!  
> Don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of it!


	4. Tamed

Will didn’t see the girl in weeks after that. She never showed back to his school or yard and he could no longer feel her presence nearby. It was as though she had vanished or simply never existed at all. He replayed their conversation over and over, forcing himself to remember it happened for real. There were moments he doubted it.

That girl - _Giana_ \- was Dart. _Dustin’s Dart_. The same creature they had tried to destroy. The same creature Will had turned into. He wasn’t alone. There were other people like him, shapeshifters like him. Monsters like him. He wasn’t alone. The thought warmed his heart and terrified him as the same time. What was he? What were they? What did this all mean? So many questions plagued him and he had so few answers.

He had thought about telling Jane, the only one he could have shared this with but days had passed and he remained silent, unable to speak, unable to believe this was truly real.

“Will! Will?”

He looked up, snapped from his thoughts. Dr Owens was staring at him with a questioning expression. He hated that place. This horrible bunker he was forced to visit every week for his series of tests. They made him feel like a lab rat.

“Did you hear my question? How many bottles have you had this past week?”

“Four.”

“Four?” he turned to Joyce, “This is way more than the prescribed dose! Half a cup four times a day, no more. It is very important he respects those doses.”

“He’s hungry, doctor…”

“I understand Joyce but the boy needs to control that thirst. The more he drinks, the more he wants, the aggressive he gets. We can’t have any of this.”

Will sighed, tired of hearing them speak on his behalf as he weren’t there. He was starving. The daily dose he was allowed wasn’t enough and he felt weak and sick a bit more every day.

“Has he taken his medication?” Owens asked, checking Will’s eyes and ears.

“Yes, three pills a day,” Joyce responded as Owens inspected his teeth as he would have a horse, “But I have the impression they’re making him… apathetic…” she sounded worried and Will rolled his eyes.

“That’s the point, Joyce. They neutralize his strength, rendering it impossible to transform into that beast. They also keep his aggressivity to a minimum.”

Will blinked. He hated those pills. They made him sleepy all the time. He was hungry and felt nauseous, his tongue thick and heavy.

“What about his speed?”

“He’s still getting faster.”

Owens nodded, checking a piece of paper with a frown, “His testosterone level has risen again. I’ll have to make another injection.”

He turned toward a cabinet on his right and produced a 3 inches long syringe. Will winced. He hated those injections. They were awfully painful. The elder man saw his reaction and gave him a sad pout.

“It’s for your own good, Will. It is vital to keep you as human as possible.”

“Because I’m dangerous, I know…” he felt more like cat without claws than a killer.

“This and because no one must know you’re different. If the government knew there was someone like you out there, they’d track you down and lock you up. They wouldn't be as nice as I, trust me. I mean you well boy.”

Will swallowed. He knew the refrain by heart.

“I know.”

Owens smiled and pushed the needle into Will’s arm, releasing the burning liquid slowly into his muscles and Will took a deep breath to fight back the pain.

He was quiet all the way back home, his arm and body throbbing with the effect of the injection.

“Talk to me Will?” Joyce pleaded, looking at him via the mirror.

Will shrugged, “I don’t have anything to say mom.”

“We’re doing our best to help you, sweetie. Sam is right you know. If bad people found out about you, they’d hurt you. I don’t want my boy to be hurt.”

“I know mom.”

He saw her smile in the mirror and tried to smile back. He just wanted to sleep. He was sick and tired of being tortured, no matter how good this was supposed to do him. He just wanted to be left alone. Joyce focused her attention back on the road and he turned to look at the passing scenery with a forlorn expression. His thoughts deviated to the Dart. He wondered where she was now and if he would see her again. He wondered if she truly was Dustin’s Dart. It all sounded like joke or a far-fetched science fiction story. Yet again, his whole life was a science fiction story. He sometimes had time to believe it himself.

The drug Owens had injected in his system exhausted him for the day that followed and he didn’t go to school. He drank the half-filled cup of blood his mother presented him, trying his best to ignore the burning in his throat and throbbing head that barely receded. He felt on the verge of dying, cold and hot and sick all at the same time. He didn’t have the energy to move a limb from his bed.

“Mom?” he called weakly.

She was in his room a second later, “Yes baby?”

“Please mom… I’m so hungry…” he was going to cry.

Joyce sighed, looking equally broken, and went to sit on the bed, stroking his damp forehead.

“Oh my baby… I’m so sorry… Sam said we must respect the doses. He knows what he’s doing. It’s for your own good. I… I wish I could do something but this is out of my control Will.”

“Please mom…” Joyce sobbed and sniffled, putting her hand to her forehead, “Mom…”

“Don’t make this harder than it is Will. You’re not feeling well because of the injection. You know how they get you… You’ll feel better in a few hours.”

“Mom…”

“It’s ok baby. You’re gonna be ok. I promise. I know you’re hurt and confused. I’m with you. Your sister is with you. Jim is with you. You’re not alone. We’re here for you, Will. Everyday,” she kissed his cheek, “I have to go to work. Night shift. Jane will be back in two hours. The side effect of the meds will have worn off by then. You’ll see,” she kissed him again, “I love you so much.”

He watched her leave the room, blinked at the sad smile she addressed him before disappearing in the hall to grab her coat. He knew his mother was distraught and did her best to keep her spirits but he still felt betrayed to see she was willing to let him in this state of agony just because some guy with a degree told her to. He coughed, his head throbbing more than ever. His eyes were heavy, the room around him a black and white blurr. His hand twitched, his breath hitched in his throat and his head pressed into the pillow. A deep slumber took him over, pulling him into the abyss.

“Will?”

He was snapped back to consciousness by the gentle shake of a warm hand on his shoulder and a humming sound that could have called him back to life even from the Limbos. His nostrils flared as the most delicious scent reached him. He blinked his eyes open and refocused his vision on the prettiest face the world had brought over.

“Mike?”

Mike smiled, “Hey buddy! You didn’t come today. I was worried. I called but no one answered so I came to see if you were ok,” his smile faltered as he took into Will’s sickeningly white features, “You don’t look good Will. Everything ok?”

Will shook his head, too weak to speak. His mouth didn’t even feel like his own.

Mike frowned, “It’s the lab, right? They did something to you again?” Will nodded, his eyes heavy again, his whole consciousness focused on Mike’s scent, “Your eyes are black. You need to feed.”

Will swallowed, “I… I had my dose.”

Mike rolled his eyes, “Obviously you didn’t have enough. You’re starving. You’re trembling and your lips are white, like completely white dude, like a vamp Halloween costume!” Will blinked. Mike blinked, reconsidering the stupidity of his words, “Sorry…”

Will shook his head, dismissing the awkwardness of the situation. He suddenly perked his head up, his senses catching his sister walking in the street just outside the home. A few seconds later the door opened.

“Hello?” she called.

“We’re here!” Mike replied.

He counted the steps she took to join them. When she saw Will, her happy expression turned worried, “Will?”

“He’s not well.”

Jane sighed, “His eyes are pitch black. Owen’s prescribed diet isn’t enough. He needs more. I’ll be right back.”

She left the room in haste. Mike brushed a strand of hair from Will’s forehead, the veins of his wrist pulsing just above his nose, sending out waves of his mouthwatering blood and Will lost himself in the song it made, black veins gathering right under his eyes in want. His lips had parted and his fangs elongated on their own accord. He wanted him. A gasp from Mike forced his eyes open. He was suddenly very aware of his shameful reaction. Mike was staring right back at him, his chest rising repeatedly with his heavy breathing and racing heart. Will hadn’t descended from his bloodlust yet and his veins and fangs were still apparent. Both boys had locked eyes with each other, the world around them seemingly gone. Mike’s face was flushed with a strange torpor that numbed Will equally and Will growled almost inaudibly, like a pur. Very slowly, Mike lowered his wrist to Will’s mouth and Will’s lips trembled, his gums aching with the need to sink into that delicious offered flesh. He opened his mouth a bit more, his control gone, ready to bite and take this blood he wanted so much. He saw Mike lick his lip, eyes wide. Something in the human demeanor told him that he was ok with this, that he was submitting to Will and it made him euphoric. He opened his mouth, ready to sink his teeth into the wrist, a low growl erupting from his throat, Mike’s heart jumping in his ears with fear and this strange torpor that was taking them down.

“Here, have some more,” Jane’s voice broke the heavy trance they had both fallen into, snapping them back to reality.

Mike brutally removed his wrist from Will’s lips, leaving Will shaken and confused, the beast in him blindly searching for the stream that was taken from it.

Jane didn’t say anything. She looked between the two of them with a slight frown and walked to Will with a fuming mug. Mike wrinkled his nose. Jane didn’t even budge. She was used to the smell. Will however took the mug in haste, gulping the content with the thirst of a wanderer. The warm liquid soothed the burning in his throat almost immediately. He knew the burning would come back but it was better than nothing really. From the corner of his eye he saw Mike staring at him with an odd expression, swallowing repeatedly.

Will put the mug down, licked the remnant of blood from his lips and turned to his sister.

“Please, don’t tell mom anything.”

“You know I never do.”

“The bottle will still have diminished though.”

She shrugged, “I don’t care. They have no right to treat you like this. You’re not a circus freak.”

He swallowed, looking down at his lap, thinking over the fact that he had almost bitten Mike. No wonder Mike was afraid of him now… It made him want to cry.

“I am…”

“No you’re not!” Mike snapped fiercely, “Look at me Will. You’re not. And El is right. The way they treat you is awful. It’s abuse, plain and simple. It’s not because you drink a bit more than what Owens says that you’re gonna snap and rip us apart. You have more control than that. I know you do.”

Will wanted to laugh. No, he didn't. Hadn’t his sister entered the room when she had, he would have _bitten_ Mike. He would have drained him like a fruit. His mouth still watered at the prospect. He was a freak and he was dangerous. He knew this. Mike should have been thankful to Owens for the meds he had Will take. Who knew what horrible things Will might have done without them…

Mike stayed with them for the rest of the evening, Jim and Joyce still out working. The two humans had pasta and Will a full cup of blood. He knew his mother would be mad at him for disobeying Owen’s orders but Jane and Mike insisted he drank his fill with his meds. They didn’t like those pills either, said they made Will ill.

They settled on the couch for a movie. Will focused his attention more on Mike’s humming blood than the screen. It was barely possible to ignore it anyway. The song was always so strong, calling to him, lulling him. It was both soothing and painful. He glanced at the couple beside him. They were snuggling with each other and Will felt a pang of longing. He would have given anything to be eligible to Mike’s eyes. But Mike wasn’t like him. He was human and he didn’t like other boys. Tears gathered in the corners of Will’s eyes. He fought them back, unwilling to be so emotional in front of them. Monsters were not supposed to cry. Hell, they were not supposed to watch movies with humans either.

Joyce and Jim became more vigilant of Will’s diet and supervised it more strictly. Will went back to school groggy with Owens’s prescription. For his own good as he always said. He could smell the other kids’ blood but his body was too weak to react. The Party kept sending him worried looks. Dustin and Max agreed with Jane and Mike, finding those visits to the lab more and more harmful. Lucas however was more reserved.

“You know, Owens’s not a bad guy. I mean, he helped El. It’s thanks to him if you can call her sister now. He gave her a new identity, a new life. And he’s helping you too. Sure, it’s a bit harsh but he’s doing his best Will. He’s right you know. If other people found out about you, you’d be in trouble man. I really don’t want this for you.”

Will remained silent, munching on his steak, trying to extract as much blood as he could but it was dry and too well-cooked and Will was left with the impression of eating leather. He barely listened to the rest of the conversation, his mind drifting. His ears began to ring uncomfortably as if catching a strange underwater echo. His vision blurred to a flaming dark sky and he could feel a presence inside him like a pressure, calling to him, beckoning him. He shook his head, shutting his eyes to make it go away but the presence lingered.

“Are you ok Will?”

He opened his eyes on his friends who were staring at him with a frown. They looked spooked and confused.

“I’m fine. Just a headache.”

He hated their expressions, full of worry and pity and a bit of fear as he were a fragile little thing that was going to snap. He wasn’t. He would have crushed this table with one punch. Their hearts were racing in their chests. He knew what they were thinking. The pressure inside his head intensified.

_“The All Mother. She’s calling to you, guiding you to us.”_

“I have to go,” he said in haste, needing to get away from this place as fast as possible.

“Will, wait!” Mike tried but Will ignored him.

He couldn’t stay here. The meds were making it almost impossible to think and the combined bang of racing hearts formed a cacophony he could no longer bear. He rose from his seat on wobbly feet, put his tray back in the racks and hurried out of the cafeteria. The students were looking at him of course but were too afraid to say anything. Dustin and Mike tried to reason with him but Will didn’t listen. He exited the room, his eyes locked in front of him. The school gate was a bore to jump over but he managed eventually, not minding if anyone saw him.

As he walked away from the building into the woods, the pressure in his head became unbearable. His body felt weaker by the second and he had to use all his remaining strength to keep going, determined to reach the old science facility. Sounds were resonating inside his head, stronger than ever, his whole body throbbing with fever, throat burning with a thirst he could no longer contain. A squirrel jumped nearby. He needed it, needed the blood that was inside it. He extended his hand toward the small animal, his arm trembling with the effort. The squirrel was faster and Will’s knees buckled as he tried to catch it. He fell on a root, head crashing on the dirt.

“Dart…” he whispered, too low for anyone to hear.

The last thing he remembered before falling into oblivion was the sensation of someone coming to him. His vision turned black on chestnut hair and dark brown eyes.


End file.
